Tina Wright is a writer and editor (and former PR
executive) in Nashville, Tennessee. Her debut novel,
Heaven in the Dark, is available now on Amazon.

Linda also writes for AXS.com, covering Nashville en-
tertainment; TheRowdy.com, covering country music;
and Examiner.com in her National Foods and Recipes
column. Find her on social media with #AxsNashville.

F eature Story

Nashville Area Food Trucks Up the Ante

with Locally Sourced Ingredients

By Tina Wright and Linda Brewer

Photos by Lucas Kane

W
e all love to escape the confines of our kitchens and eat out
occasionally, but there is something particularly appealing about a
visit to a favorite food truck: debating the mouthwatering
possibilities on the menu as we stand in line (even if—like me—you
always revert back to your go-to order); visiting with fellow diners;
and just soaking in the inherently festive atmosphere that inevitably
accompanies a food truck.

Nashville has one of the best food truck scenes in the U.S. and, even
better, many of them have made a commitment to source local
ingredients whenever possible. In this issue, we’re spotlighting three
trucks that have made this commitment to bringing customers great food
with ingredients sourced from Middle Tennessee and surrounding areas.

Two Goats

H
usband and wife duo P.J. and Ali De Armond, the proprietors of Two
Goats food truck, were already working as cooks when they met six
years ago in Chattanooga. From the beginning, Ali says, “We always
talked about [having] our own place…what we would serve. It seemed
like a dream.”

After a move to Nashville to be closer to Ali’s sister Laura, the
couple shared their vision of having their own eatery, and Laura told
them about the Nashville Farmers’ Market’s Grow Local Kitchen. “One
day we said to each other, ‘Let’s just do it,’” Ali recalls. “We
served out of the Grow Local Kitchen...We loved it there. Being able
to come in early, talk to the farmers and purchase the food we would
serve—the same day it was picked—was amazing!”

While their original goal was to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant,
they eventually decided they would prefer a food truck, and their
delicious and unique culinary creations filled a void in Nashville’s
burgeoning food truck scene. “Coming from different regions of the
country, P.J. loves Caribbean and Latin-style foods, and I have a love
for French, Mediterranean, vegetarian and southern cuisines,” Ali
says. The end result is an eclectic menu that includes their famous
goat bowls (e.g. the Bowly Goat, featuring rice and beans, harissa
marinated goat, pickled onions and cabbage, a blackberry chili
reduction and a sunny side egg), rabbit tacos, sweet potato tacos,
fried grit cakes and much more.

True to their Grow Local Kitchen origins, the couple source local
ingredients whenever they can. “Say if we do a ceviche in the summer,
it will be dressed with local herbs and vegetables,” Ali says. “Our
rabbit comes from a small farm in Southern Kentucky…the eggs we use
are from a friend in East Nashville who has chickens. We are still
looking for a local goat farmer who can supply enough goat weekly for
us.”

Two Goats also does catering and pop-ups; to find their truck, or book
them for an event, visit their website or stalk them on social
media. When you do, you’ll probably get more than a delicious meal—you
may also get inspiration for your own culinary creations.

“We want to get to the point where we can share our recipes so others
can grow their own food, source from small local farms, and make
amazing meals for their family and friends at home,” Ali
says. “Profit-wise it is not the best choice, but it’s our choice. We
do what we love and want share it with everyone.”

The Brothers Burger

T
he Brothers Burger, the food truck of siblings Cole and Jeremiah
James, is the inevitable result of the passion for cooking that they
have shared their whole lives. “Both of us have worked in restaurants
on and off all of our adult lives,” says Cole. Jeremiah started the
truck, and Cole quickly joined forces with him to make it a family
affair.

The Brothers Burger is as passionate about local ingredients as they
are the end result: “It’s all about the quality, and supporting other
local farms and businesses,” Cole says. “We use Head Family Farms
beef, and…it’s some of the best beef around. It’s 21-day dry-aged
beef, and you can tell in the flavor. We actually work directly with
Jay Head, who runs the farm. It’s nice to know the farmer that is
handling your food.

“We also use Batey Farms for our bacon,” Cole continues. “They have
delicious uncured bacon. It’s tough to go back to store-bought bacon
once you’ve tried this stuff! The qualityof the food is very
important, but it’s also nice to know that the beef and bacon aren’t
traveling a thousand miles to get to us. It’s going less than a
hundred miles.”

The brothers also source many supplemental ingredients
locally. “During the growing season, we use Burns Farm for tomatoes
and other produce,” Cole says.“For our buns, we use Charpier’s
Bakery. Quite a few restaurants and food trucks use them for bread,
because it is delicious,” he adds.

The menu at the Brothers Burger revolves around their gourmet burgers
and hand-cut fries. Two menu staples, the Jump Back Jack burger,
featuring a 1/3-pound beef patty, candied bacon, caramelized onions,
cumin aioli, jalapenos and pepper jack cheese, and the Uncle Sam
burger, a 1/3-pound patty with mustard, mayo, lettuce, pickles,
tomatoes and cheddar cheese, are joined by a rotating third burger,
which changes every week or two.

“We make everything from scratch except for things like mayo and
mustard,” says Cole. “We put a lot of love into our food!”

It’s all part of the brothers’ commitment to their customers and to
their community—and to creating a mouth-watering, gourmet burger.

Crepe A Diem

O
riginally an art major, Texas native Brittney Blackshear fell in love
with crepes while studying abroad in France. After graduation, she
moved to Savannah, Georgia, and studied under a Michelin star French
chef before taking the crepe-making plunge in 2011 with a small
pull-cart, which she christened Crepe A Diem. The name, a play on the
Latin phrase “carpe diem” (seize the day), was an apt label for
Brittney, as that is exactly what she’s done over the last five years.

While Crepe A Diem was thriving in Savannah, the historic city’s food
truck ordinances limited her business potential. “I decided to move to
Nashville and join the amazing food truck scene,” says Brittney.“I
designed my truck to be a mobile cafe to specialize in preparing
fresh-to-order French street food...crepes!”

The Crepe A Diem menu has a plethora of tasty offerings, all
chock-full of locally sourced ingredients: The B.E.C. Crepe—featuring
Applewood smoked bacon, River Cottage Farm eggs and Sweetwater Valley
cheddar cheese; Nutella and banana or strawberry crepes—made with
Delvin Farm’s organic strawberries, when they’re in season; and the
quiche du jour, which is seasonally inspired (at press time it
featured Whispering Creek roasted mushrooms and Noble Springs Dairy
goat cheese) are just a few highlights. “[We serve the quiche] with
local greens salad,” says Brittney. “They always go fast!

“This year we will celebrate three years as a food truck in
Nashville,” she adds.“Being able to be a part of the
circleintegratingfarmer and food to family and table is awonderful
and deliciousprivilege.”

Since its first year, Crepe A Diem has been a full-season vendor at
the Franklin Farmers’ Market. “This is a wonderful and vibrant
food-cultured community where you can really get to know your local
farmer,” Brittney says. “There are a lot of genuine and sincere folks
who are truly passionate about their farms, ranches and crafts…I look
forward to how I get to visit the farmers, handpick my ingredients,
and then go make breakfast for…the patrons of the market. Greens and
produce, cut and pulled within hours, along with farm-fresh eggs,
fresh milled grits, creamy fresh milk and butter, and…fresh local
grass-fed beef and pork...all this goes into our fresh crepes made
with love. I like to serve the best to my customers and share the
bounty of this market.”

You’ll find the Crepe A Diem truck every Saturday at the Franklin
Farmers’ Market, and every Sunday at Sevier Park in 12 South. For
additional locations, connect with Crepe A Diem on its website or
social media.